Portrait of Norbert Goeneutte

Art Historical Context

This 1876 drypoint portrait captures Norbert Goeneutte, a French painter and printmaker closely associated with the Impressionist circle, rendered by his contemporary Marcellin Desboutin. Created as the first state of two impressions, the work exemplifies the intimate artistic exchanges among young Parisian artists in the 1870s. Both men moved in the same social and professional circles that included Édouard Manet, and such portraits often served as tokens of friendship as well as artistic experimentation. Drypoint technique lends the image its distinctive soft, velvety lines. The artist scratches directly into the copper plate with a sharp needle, raising a burr of metal that catches ink and produces rich, blurred edges unlike the crisp lines of etching. As an early impression, this state preserves the freshness of Desboutin’s initial marks before later revisions altered the plate. Now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection through the Rogers Fund, the print offers visitors a glimpse into the lively printmaking revival of late nineteenth-century France. It highlights how modest-sized works on paper could convey both personal connection and technical innovation during a transformative period in modern art.

About the Artist

Norbert Goeneutte|Marcellin Desboutin · 1854–1894

Comment on works: painter; graphic artist; illustrator